Truffle pines

Truffle production from a pine plant

As far as truffle growing is concerned, pine offers several advantages. First of all, it likes poor and calcareous soils. Resistant to high temperatures as well as to winter periods, it adapts well to low altitudes as well as to medium mountains. Fast growing, it has no particular phytosanitary sensitivity.

Ability of the mycorrhizal pine to produce truffles

Due to its great "adaptability" and tolerance (in terms of altitude, soil conditions, drought resistance...), pine appears to be a very good truffle species. Provided with a taproot system that quickly turns into tracer roots, pine is able to cling to difficult soils or eroded areas, while promoting nutrient exchanges with its mycorrhiza fungus. Known for its toughness, the pine is nevertheless a light-demanding species, intolerant of shade, but resistant to wind. Adapted to difficult soil conditions, it tolerates calcareous, very clayey, compact, stony or superficial soils. Its low ecological requirements make the pine one of the most rustic species.

Austrian black pine or Aleppo pine: Which one to choose in truffle growing ?

The choice will depend on the characteristics of your soil and your land. The parameters to be taken into consideration include :
- altitude and climate: Aleppo pine is very sensitive to cold while Austrian black pine tolerates it.
- exposure: both varieties like light, but Aleppo pine is less sensitive to wind than Austrian black pine.
- Soil type: all types of calcareous soils for the black pine, calcareous and clay-limestone soils for the Aleppo pine.
- growth: fast for the Austrian black pine, slower for the Aleppo pine.

Which truffles to grow from a pine plant ?

Thanks to its natural biotope similar to that of tuber uncinatum, pine is naturally preferred for the production of Burgundy truffles. However, thanks to mycorrhization, pine trees are also favourable to black truffles farming (tuber melanosporum) and summer truffles growing (tuber aestivum). Thanks to a controlled mycorhization process developed in our nursery's laboratories, we can offer you high quality truffle pine plants (controlled mycorhization certified by INRA, plants raised in anti-chignon buckets).